A war of words has begun between Prime Minister David Cameron and iconic conspiracy theorist David Icke after Cameron proclaimed there is no “giant David Icke-style conspiracy” to convince UK voters to stay in the EU.

The prime minister made the quip Thursday during a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande as they announced a £1.5 billion drone deal. Cameron was responding to a warning from Hollande about the consequences for Britain if it left the EU.

Across the UK, voters will go to the polls on June 23 to decide whether Britain should remain in the European Union.

Icke, who believes Britain should leave the EU, has responded to the comment through social media and in a video on hisblog where he speaks directly to “Mr Cameron”

He says it’s “fascinating” Cameron feels the need to deny the theory and “even more fascinating when it’s so bloody obvious that that’s exactly what is going on”.

“It’s all designed to frighten the people of Britain into staying in a centralised bureaucratic tyranny, which is designed to take all freedoms away and in the end to dismantle countries and break Europe up into regions,” Icke claims.

“There is no conspiracy to keep Britain in the EU – Mr Cameron, you are having a laugh,” he proclaims, accusing the prime minister of fear mongering and being a “snake oil salesman”.

“It’s a farce, it’s a con and worst of all Mr Cameron you bloody well know it”.

Icke, however, found some silver lining in Cameron’s comment, and ends his address to the prime minister with a message of gratitude: “Thanks Mr Cameron for showing we are having an effect.”

A former professional goalkeeper and television presenter, Icke rose to international fame in the 1990s with claims that shape-shifting lizards were controlling the planet by masquerading as presidents and monarchs for centuries.